PERDICIN-ffi. 561 



blast of a cracked trumpet ; but it is far from being a loud call, 

 though sufficiently audible for a great distance. This call is 

 almost always uttered from a slight eminence, a bank, ant hill 

 or clump of earth, and where it abounds, answering cries may be 

 heard from all sides. It generally calls much after rain, or after 

 a heavy dew. 



The hen Partridge breeds from May to July, laying ten or 

 twelve eggs (sometimes, it is stated, as many as fifteen) of a 

 pale bluish white colour, according to some writers, but those 

 I have seen were pale greenish, when first laid ; and she iisually 

 has her nest in the grass, sometimes in an Indigo field, and 

 occasionally in a Sugar-cane field. 



In the cold weather, after the yoilng have flown and separated 

 from their parents, they may be found scatterd over a greater 

 expanse of country than in the hot weather and rains, and are 

 often to be found in fields far from water. This Partridge is 

 stated occasionally to perch on and to roost on trees, but this 

 is certainly a rare habit with this species, though not uncommon 

 with the Painted Partridge. 



The Black Partridge is strong on the wing, but flies steadily and 

 afibrds a fair shot. Its pursuit is a favorite sport in many parts of 

 the country where it is at all abundant. It is stated in the Bengal 

 Sporting Magazine, for 1841, that seventy-five brace have been 

 bagged in one day by one gun, near Kurnal in the Upper Provinces, 

 but it is now everywhere more scarce than it used to be formerly. 

 It is tolerably good eating, especially Avhen kept for a few days and 

 eaten cold. In some parts of the country tippets used to be made 

 of the beautiful black, white-spotted feathers of the lower plumage, 

 and were in much request, but they are rarely procurable now. 



819. Francolinus pictus, Jard. and Selby. 



Perdix, apud Jardine and Selby, 111. Orn. pi. 50 — Blyth, 

 Cat. 158— Sykes, Cat. 158— Jerdon, Cat. 212-~Kala-titar, H. 

 and Mahr. — Kahkera kodi, Tel. 



The Painted Partridge. 



Descr. — Forehead, lores, face, broad superciliura, and ear-coverts, 

 ferruginous-chesnut ; the top of the head dark brown with pale 



PART II. 4 B 



